The very first jet powered aircraft took off just three days before the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. On September 27, 1939, a test pilot named Erich Warsitz climbed into the cockpit of the experimental Heinkel 178, and launched himself into history, and the United States down the road to governmental gridlock and shutdown. Not anytime soon, of course, but eventually. Indeed, it would take decades for the revolutionary new technology to have this effect. I will get back to this point in a minute, but first we need to look at how Congress actually operates.

The Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC is quite a pretty place, as far as cities are concerned. Revitalized significantly during the mid-oughties, it boasts an international collection of restaurants, a pleasant 19th Century market, and is conveniently close to the National Mall and all the wonders of the Smithsonian Museums. Oh, and the United States Congress works there too.

When I first moved there it just so happens that I was dating a "Hill Staffer" who worked for a congressman from her home state. That is when I began to learn how our government really works as opposed to all that crap I learned in High School civics class and courtesy of Schoolhouse Rock. It is amazing how much you can absorb when you are really, truly, interested in the person who is explaining something to you.

I learned, for example, how pathetically underpaid most congressional staff workers are and how the unity created by shared penury creates the only truly bi-partisan product you will find in DC, the semi-weekly and completely unofficial list of "receptions" and "lunch events" that is circulated, along with commentary about the food, among the Interns, "Staff Assistants" (avg income about $22K), Legislative Correspondents (LCs, avg income about $23K), and Legislative Aides (LAs, avg income around $28K or so). I found out that most of the people who do the steady lifting in the Congressman's and Senator's offices would, if they had a family of four, qualify for food stamps in DC, and that because the pay is so low (or in the case of interns, non-existent) most have to live in group houses. But in all of this they do have one thing that makes some of the work they do during the day at least possible, they all live, love, eat and socialize in DC or the surrounding areas.

The people they work for, the Congressmen and women, and the Senators, do not. Sure, many of them have apartments there, or lease out a house. Not a few actually live in group housing themselves, but of course their group is made up exclusively of others just like themselves. Strangers in a strange land, the average member of Congress does not have his family with him during the work week. And by "work week" I mean the period in the middle, since it usually consists of just Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The whole work schedule for this year consists of just 126 days. Yes, you read that right.

Which brings us back to the jet engine, because you see it was the steady series of improvements in both reliability and fuel efficiency, as well as some legislation, that ultimately made it possible for all 535 members of Congress to fly home, pretty much every single weekend. There they meet with their constituents, spend time with their families, and, of course, raise funds for their next campaign. And you might think that this would be good, but you would be wrong.

A funny thing happened this past weekend that reminded me of all of this. You see, since the House was going to be in session on Sunday, nobody could go home. And you know what, that was how it always used to be. Members of Congress would make the long, and often arduous trip from their home states and either move their whole family to the city itself, or at least into the area. Then they would stay in DC for months and months at a time, and while they would be doing that their kids would be going to school together, their wives would be attending social functions together, and they would be mixing up with, gasp, the opposition over cocktails or beers on the sideline or PTA meetings. All the time. All over the city.

What resulted was, for a large chunk of our history, a Congress which could manage that most important of political feats for a government, compromise. Yea, sure, you oppose Senator Flatbush on his military spending supplemental bill, but it was not personal. Your kids play on the same flag football team and you know that if you take your position to an extreme you are going to have a reaaaally awkward time with your wife next weekend when you are both going to be at the Johnson's cookout up in Bethesda.

Instead of that what happens now is that congressmembers go back to their home states, and they hear exactly what they want to hear from the people who elected them. This, friends, hardens them.

Of course, it was not just the jet engine that caused all of this. Part of the blame can be laid on the Federal Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. With that one pierce of well intentioned legislature we suddenly saw an explosion of competition within the free market and, as often happens, that drove down prices. It is estimated that an airlines ticket is now 40% cheaper than it was in 1978, and there are a host of new airlines that fly, literally, everywhere.

Maybe what we need is a change to the system. I actually know a couple of those folks who have served in Congress, from both parties, and folks, a lot of them are not crazy or evil or any of the other host of insults perpetually hurled at them from both ends of the spectrum. The gridlock gripping them is not all of their own design. Some of it is structural. So let us hope for some leadership that will make those structural repairs and hopefully in a few years we will see a government that can get more things done the old fashioned way, through compromise.

These are my opinions only and not those of the US Congress, the Department of Defense, the Kenston School District, or the United States Army. As always, you can write to me at R_Bateman_LTC@hotmail.com.